Finger-operated brush



April 14, 1,970 3,505,700

RODRIGUEZ FINGER-OPERATED BRUSH Filed July 24, 1968 INVENTOR. Rodney Rod riguez ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,505,700 FINGER-OPERATED BRUSH Rodney Rodriguez, 230 E. 52nd St., New York, N.Y. 10022 Filed July 24, 1968, Ser. No. 747,182 Int. Cl. A46b /04 US. Cl. 15160 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A finger-operated brush for the application of cosmetics. The brush includes finger-mounting means having a finger-receiving aperture for receiving a finger therethrough. The finger-mounting means terminates above the first joint of the finger to eliminate interference with the normal flexing of the finger joint. The finger-mounting means includes at least one wall for covering a portion of the finger. A brush is connected to the wall and extends outwardly therefrom.

This invention relates generally to a brush, and more particularly, pertains to a brush which is adapted to be operated by one finger to accurately apply cosmetics to the face, for example.

Cosmetics such as eye liner and the like usually are applied to the face of the user by a hand-held brush. Presently, these brush applicators are extremely inconvenient to handle and require a firm and steady hand to apply the cosmetic to the face. Moreover, if eye liner, for example, is smeared rather than applied in a straight line, it will detract from a persons appearance rather than enhance the same. As a result, many women have avoided the use of such cosmetics because they have found that the application of beauty aids by such means is extremely dil'ficult, particularly in view of the fact that they cannot apply such aids accurately with the brushes that are presently available.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved brush for the application of cosmetics such as eye liner and the like.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a brush which is adapted to be operated by a single finger, thereby to obtain better control over the use of the brush.

A further object and feature of the present invention resides in the novel detail of construction which provides a finger-operated brush of the type described which is compact and can be carried at all times on the person of the user and which is readily available for the application of the beatuty aid to the face of the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fingeroperated brush which simplifies substantially the application of a cosmetic such as eye liner to the face of the user.

Accordingly, a finger-operated brush constructed in accordance with the present invention includes fingermounting means having a finger-receiving aperture for receiving a finger therethrough. The finger-mounting means includes at least one wall for covering a portion of the finger, and brush means is mounted on said one wall and extends outwardly therefrom whereby the brush may be mounted on the finger of the user so that the user may accurately control the operation of the brush means.

Other advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a finger-operated brush constructed in accordance with the present invention, shown mounted on the finger of a user;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a modified fingeroperated brush constructed in accordance with the present invention, shown mounted on a finger tip;

FIG. 3 is a view of the brush of FIG. 2 as seen from the end; and

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the brush shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 illustrates a finger-operated brush constructed according to the present invention which is designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The brush 10 includes a substantially circular peripheral wall 12 which defines a finger-receiving aperture or opening at the bottom thereof. A top wall 16 is connected to the top of the peripheral wall 12 to provide a top cover for the brush 10 and to define a housing 18 which is adapted to encompass the finger of the user.

In practice, the housing may be fabricated from nylon or the like or a plastic or other suitable material. Moreover, the peripheral wall 12 and the top wall 16 may be formed integrally by many well known methods depending upon the type of material from which the housing 18 is fabricated. As shown in FIG. 1, the peripheral wall 12 is sized so that the'bottom edge thereof will terminate above the first joint I of finger P which is received within the interior of the housing. Accordingly, the brush 10 will not interfere with the normal flexing of the finger.

Mounted on the top wall 16 of the housing 18 is a brush portion which is designated generally by the reference numeral 20. In practice, brush portion 20 comprises a plurality of hairs or bristles of sable or red sable. However, it is to be noted that this is by way of illustration and is not to be interpreted as being a limitation on the present invention. That is, the brush material may be fabricated from the same material as the housing 18, such as nylon. The brush portion 20 is affixed to the top wall 16 in any conventional manner as by gluing the same or by embedding the ends oft he hairs in the top :wall during the formation of the housing 18. The brush portion 20 is oriented so that the bristles or hairs are perpendicular to the Wall 16, as shown in FIG. 1.

In operation, in those applications wherein the fingeroperated brush 10 is utilized to apply a cosmetic, such as eye liner, to the face of the user, the brush is mounted on the finger tip of the finger F. The brush portion 20 then is dipped into the eye liner or other cosmetic which is to be applied. Then, the hand may be rested against the cheek of the user and the finger moved to apply the eye liner to the eyelid.

Accordingly, since the hand rests against the check of the user when the brush 10 is operated, the hand is substantially steady so that the eyeliner may be applied accurately and smoothly to eliminate smearing.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate a modified embodiment of a fingeroperated brush constructed according to the present invention and designated generally by the reference numeral 22.

The brush 22 includes a curved front wall or shield 24. As shown in the figures, the wall 24 is curved concave outwardly from top to bottom and from side to side. Additionally, side edges 26 and 28 of the front wall 24 converge toward each other and meet at an apex 30. Extending rearwardly and curving toward each other from the side edges 26 and 28 are respective tabs 32 and 34- which terminate just short of each other, as shown in FIG. 3. The tabs 32 and 34 and the front wall 24 define a finger-receiving aperture 36 therebetween.

Extending outwardly from the outer surface of the front wall 24 adjacent the apex 30 is a hollow tubular member 38. The axis of the tubular member 38 is substantially perpendicular to a tangent T to the surface of the wall 24 which passes through the point of connection of the tubular member 38 with the wall 24. Received within the tubular member 38 is a brush portion 40 which is similar to the brush portion 20 noted hereinabove in connection with the finger-operated brush 10. The brush portion 40 may comprise a plurality of hairs of sable or red sable which may be affixed to the tubular member by crimping the end of the member 38 after the brushes have been inserted into the interior of the same. Alternatively, the hairs 40 may be aflixed in place by adhesive or the like. Additionally, tubular member 38 may be affixed to the front wall 24 by welding or soldering the two elements together, if the brush 22 is fabricated from a metal, or molding the same integrally if the brush 22 is fabricated from a plastic.

In operation, the finger is inserted through the fingerreceiving aperture 36 until the finger tip abuts the upwardly curved section of the wall 24. Accordingly, the inner surface of the wall 24 will be in juxtaposition to the front of the finger. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 4, the bottom edge 42 of the front wall 24 is curved concave upwardly. Accordingly, when the brush 22 is seated on the finger F of the user, as shown in FIG. 2, the bottom edge 42 will extend above the first joint of the finger so that the brush 22 will not interfere with the normal flexing of the finger at this joint. The brush 22 then may be operated in the same manner as the brush 12 to apply a beauty aid such as eye liner to the face of the user. Additionally, it is to be noted that the angular displacement of the brush portion 40 facilitates application of such beauty aids.

\Vhile preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein it Will become obvious that numerous omissions, changes and additions may be made in such embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A finger-operated brush including finger-mounting means having a finger-receiving aperture for receiving a finger therethrough, said finger-mounting means including at least one wall for covering a portion of the finger,

and brush means mounted on said one wall and extending 4O outwardly therefrom, said one wall being a curved wall having a substantially concave outward surface adapted to be in juxtaposed relationship with' the finger, and substantially conforming to the shape thereof, said one wall having respective side edges, said finger-mounting means further including respective tabs extending rearwardly from said side edges and curving toward each other to define said finger-receiving aperture with said one wall, said one wall having a bottom edge which curves concavely upwardly and away from said brush means whereby said bottom edge does not interfere with the flexing of the first joint of the finger, said brush means including a plurality of straight hairs forming a single brush element having a relatively small diameter, and connecting means permanently affixed to said one wall for connecting said brush element with said one wall and for orienting said brush element at an angle with respect to said one wall.

2. A finger-operated brush as in claim 1, in which said connecting means comprises a tubular member extending outwardly from said one wall and substantially at a perpendicular angle with respect to a tangent to said one wall drawn through the point of contact with said tubular member.

3. A finger-operated brush as in claim 2, in which said brush element comprises a plurality of sable hairs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,151,846 3/1939 Greneker 15l6O XR 2,167,129 7/1939 Sleeper 15227 XR 2,509,837 5/1950 Nizawa 401-7 3,048,149 8/1962 Guttman 40l7 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 81,611 6/1895 Germany.

PETER FELDMAN, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

